


A Discovery of Witches: The Other Bishop

by Slytherin1967



Category: A Discovery of Witches (TV), All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-02-23 05:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23939779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin1967/pseuds/Slytherin1967
Summary: *Disclaimer: Anything you recognize in this story does not belong to me!*-I don't own the rights to The All Souls Trilogy or the Discovery of Witches tv series. It all belongs to Deborah Harkness!~What if Diana wasn't the Bishop witch that called Ashmole 782? What if there was another Bishop witch? How would the story change?
Relationships: Diana Bishop/Baldwin Clairmont, Matthew Clairmont/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 51





	1. OC Character Description

**Author's Note:**

> *Disclaimer: Anything you recognize in this story does not belong to me!*  
> -I don't own the rights to The All Souls Trilogy or the Discovery of Witches tv series. It all belongs to Deborah Harkness!

The main character of this story will be based on the actress Phoebe Tonkin.

Minerva Valeria Bishop

Minerva: also know as Mimi (by Diana, Sarah, Em, and a few new friends). Matthew calls her Mine, Mon petit loup, and Mon féroce loup (will find out why later😉).

· Minerva: Latin for intellect. goddess of Wisdom, commerce, poetry, handicrafts, and strategic warfare.

· Minerva Medica: goddess of medicine and physicians. (Equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena)

· Younger sister of Diana (5 when their parents died), Diana was 7.

Physical details:

· Dark hair and green eyes- takes after her father

· Has a birthmark of Matthews crest (moon and star) on her right shoulder blade. Has always thought of this symbol and dreamed of it for years. -Also has the word joy tattooed on her right wrist.

\- Wears a necklace with two chains that are connected, one just gold with small gold beads and the other only holds a small crescent moon charm. She was given this necklace by her parents when she was small and was told to never take it off.

· Style similar to Hayley Marshall (from the Vampire Diaries and the Originals)

· Eyes turn gold (like a werewolf😉) when she uses her powers.

Personality:

· Crazy smart

· Defensive

· Standoffish

· Independent

· Creative

-Stubborn -Protective of those she deems her own.

· High functioning (similar to Sherlock Holmes) becomes overwhelmed sometimes when high levels of emotions are involved. Due to high intelligence, traumatic childhood, and suppressed powers.


	2. Chapter 1: The Departure

Milan, Italy

Septembers, in the city of Milan, are never slow and peaceful like many other cities around the world when Fall begins to set in. The streets were filled with many tourists, locals, photographers, and if you were lucky you could even spot a celebrity or two. All of these people flocked the city during this time of year for the beginning of the Milan fashion season. Maybe that is what attracted me to this place. The many different varieties of life passing by with each moment. Many different cultures, races, and classes represented as the streets became crowded. I had always favored large crowds, so many different people to observe. Observing others allowed me to notice the things that many people couldn’t. Sitting here on this park bench without notice from the unobservant pedestrians passing by, I allowed their fast pace to draw me out of my inner thoughts. My inner thoughts have never been a safe place in which to dwell, I had learned that the hard way. “Focus, Minerva.”, I thought to myself. My eyes finally landed on a couple across the street. A man and a woman, holding hands, were strolling along the street. How is this special? What would cause me to penpoint them from all of the other “ordinary” people in the crowd? Though, to any other person who may be observing this couple they may seem extremely ordinary, but I knew differently.  
The woman’s mouth, which was covered in an expensive coral shade of lipstick, was set in a way that clearly showed her feeling of disdain for whatever thoughts were passing through her mind. Her shoulders, dressed in a teal chiffon blouse, were tense, like she was subconsciously preparing herself for some sort of altercation. While her left hand which was being held by her companion was loose and clearly lacking any sort of engagement or wedding band, her right fist was clinched and turning white. All clear signs of her inner anger, but what was the cause? One need only look to her companion for that answer. At first glance, most would never notice the faint traces of nude lipstick dotting across his neck, close to the collar of his designer shirt, which clearly didn’t match the shade worn by his companion. Next, anyone could tell by the slight creases and wrinkles in his shirt and trousers, that they had spent some time on the floor and had been thrown on hastily before he joined the woman he was accompanying. And lastly, the privacy screen that covered the surface of his cellphone was a clear indication that whatever he was doing on the device was something he didn’t want others to know about. All of these were clear signs that he was being unfaithful in his relationship with the woman he was currently with, and if her behavior was any clue, she knew about his secret. At least, all of these details were clear indicators to me. But I had never been “normal”.  
All of my deductions, as I call them, were proven right when moments later the man received yet another message from his secret lover. But this time, before he could respond, his companion snatched the phone from his hand and the truth became known to myself along with all those within hearing distance. It was clear that the relationship was over and there was no room for reconciliation. And while all of this was quite entertaining, I no longer found it of interest. Nothing has truly ever held my interest for long... it’s been that way my whole life. Quickly becoming bored with observing those around me, I rose from my seat on the bench I had been settled in for quite some time and walked away.  
Though it was vast, and full of life, this city could no longer hold off the boredom that always seemed to creep back into my mind like an insidious vaper. This vaper, that often drives me to seek out quick fixes for my lack of intellectual stimulation, had also been a part of my life for as long as I could remember. It had driven me to do things that I will forever regret. So, I did the only thing that I know to do. I returned to the hotel that I had been staying in and packed my bag with the few possessions and trinkets that I had gathered throughout my worldly travels, along with my violin case and made my way to the airport. I had come to the conclusion that it was time to visit Diana, before all of the effort and energy that I had placed into my control could waver and crumble.


	3. Chapter 2: Surprise Visit

Oxford, England

It was a beautiful morning, the leaves on the trees were beginning to change from their crisp bright greens, to rich golds, bright reds, and deep brown colors as the fall season finally arrived. The city was just waking up for the day ahead, and the bell tolled loud from the heart of the campus. But like any other morning, Diana Bishop was awake. Nervous for the important day ahead of her, she set out to complete her early morning rituals in order to calm her racing thoughts. Diana reached the boat house quickly and set out to begin one of her favorite past times. The water was calm and clear that morning, and the repetitive rowing of the boat allowed her mind to enter an almost meditative state. Her mind was finally empty of the stress she awoke with and her only thoughts were of the exercise at hand.

After completing her session for the day, Diana jogged on her return to her lodgings in New College Lane. She had made it all the way to her door before her magic alerted her to the unknown presence currently residing in her room. With her magic on high alert, Diana quietly pushed open her door and creeped into the room, in the hopes that she could surprise her burglar before they could realize she was even there. The first thing, Diana noticed was a well-worn duffle bag on the floor close to the doorway she came in from. She vaguely recognized the tattered piece of luggage, but she couldn’t think of where she had seen it before. Her next clue was a worn violin case that she recognized right away. “But how was she here? I hadn’t told her I was coming to Oxford. And how on earth did she get into my rooms?”, Diana thought, in quick succession. She didn’t hear anything that revealed the location of her guest, who was no longer a mystery.

Diana walked into the living room area of her rooms and found her guest at last. Minerva was fast asleep on the couch, facing away from the fireplace, breathing so quietly one might think she wasn’t breathing at all, until they observed the slow rise and fall of her chest. Diana released a sigh of relief at the sight of her. She hadn’t been able to get in touch with Minerva in a week, which was why she didn’t understand how she knew that Diana would be at Oxford, and this was worrying for Diana. She had suspected that she was in trouble but was going to give her till the weeks end to contact her before she really began to panic. That was their agreement after all. Minerva was to call Diana at least once every 2 weeks to let her know how she was doing. This agreement was the only reason why Minerva was allowed to go on her extended vacation in the first place.

The sight of Minerva, asleep on her couch, allowed Diana to breathe a sigh of relief. She had begun to worry for her immensely and was close to calling in some favors to track her down. Looking to the clock on the mantle and taking note of the time, Diana realized that she needed to begin getting ready for the big day ahead of her. It’s not every day that you receive the chance to give a lecture about the research of the subject you love to a group of professors at a world-renowned college after all!

But before she retreated to her room to begin the process of getting ready, she felt like some questions needed to be answered. So, she woke up the person who could answer them. “Mimi, rise and shine sleepy head.”, Diana sang quietly while softly shaking Minerva awake. Diana jumped back quickly after doing this. Experience had taught her that Minerva didn’t take kindly to being woken up from her sleep, no matter how long she had been resting. To her surprise Minerva rolled over with a smile on her face. “Good morning to you too, sister”, Minerva said with a grin.


	4. Chapter 3: Surprise Visit Pt. 2 (Minerva's POV)

Oxford, England

Arriving to her destination just after the break of dawn, Minerva took the time to survey the quite courtyard that led to the doors of the New College building. She had spoken to Sarah before departing Milan and received Diana’s current location with very little prompting. Sarah knew that Minerva liked to get straight to the point and had no desire for idol chitchat. Minerva had always been a very direct person, never one to beat around the bush. Minerva only ever sought-after vital information to curb her curiosity and rid her mind of any unnecessary details.

Unlike the deal that was made with Diana in order for her to be allowed to travel, Minerva hadn’t spoken to her aunts in quite sometime. This might seem as though they didn’t have a close relationship, but that is far from the truth. Minerva was only ever close to her immediate family. They were the only people she could freely be herself with. This being said, Sarah nor Em felt upset over the fact that they hadn’t spoken to Minerva quite as often as Diana. Because no matter how close she was with them, Diana was her main confidante. Diana was her protector and teacher all their lives. Diana was the one that taught Minerva that not everyone saw the world in minute detail like she did. “But that’s okay!”, Diana would always tell her. “You are the only you that there will ever be!”. Diana taught Minerva that there was nothing wrong with being different and she never allowed anyone to convince her otherwise.

So, when Minerva finally contacted Sarah, it was evident from the beginning what information she sought to procure during the course of the conversation, so Sarah got straight to the point and provided her with Diana’s current location. This is what led Minerva to New College in Oxford, England. Armed with Diana’s room number in mind, Minerva made her way to her final destination. It took very little time to reach the landing that the rooms were located on. Pausing for just a moment to take in the details of the door, Minerva could tell that the person she sought was no longer in the rooms. She deduced that Diana had left recently and was probably taking part in the morning rituals that she had developed in her late teens. Glancing at her phone she determined that it would be awhile yet before Diana’s return, so what would be the harm in letting herself in?

Minerva made quick work of picking the lock to the door leading into her sisters’ rooms, knowing that she wouldn’t appreciate her breaking and entering, she was careful to leave very little evidence of her break-in. Breaking and entering was a skill that Minerva had perfected throughout her young adult life, using her skills to find any sort of data that could keep her mind wonderfully occupied. She had always loved to solve puzzles and mysteries, so her skill came in handy when she sought knowledge that others would try to keep hidden.

Upon entering the rooms, she placed clues around the room to test her sister’s ability to determine her unexpected visitors’ identity when she eventually returned to her lodgings. She placed her well worn duffel bag close to the front door and her beloved violin not much further into the room. She knew that her sister would vaguely recognize the bag, but once she spotted the violin, she would no without a doubt who occupied her supposed private space.

Once satisfied with her clues in place, Minerva finally allowed the tiredness that she had fought against throughout her journey to cloud her mind. She barely made it to the couch in time before she allowed herself to collapse from exhaustion. She hadn’t slept in days due to her ever changing thoughts that plagued her mind and allowed very little time for rest. She finally felt that she was in a place where she was safe, where she could let her walls down and truly rest.

Time skip:

In what felt like mere moments, Minerva was awoken by a gentle push on her arm and a softly murmured, “Mimi, rise and shine sleepy head.” It took her a no time at all to realize who it was that had woken her from her short slumber. She rolled over on the couch, looked up to the figure peering over at her, and let a small impish grin overtake her face. “Good morning to you too sister.”, was all she said. 


	5. Chapter 4: The Calm before the Storm

With her mind fully alert, even though she had been dead to the world moments before, Minerva took a quick mental survey of the room she occupied once she glanced away from her sisters’ lovely face. It took her no longer than a few seconds to mentally catalog anything she deemed important from the details presented to her from around the room. Boxes, that had yet to be unpacked, lined the wall closest to the window, which had a desk cluttered with papers, research books, receipts, along with many other things laying on top of it. Random trinkets, a mirror, and some candles lined the mantle over the fireplace that took up a large portion of the wall directly in front of her. Next she glanced towards what would be considered the bedroom area of the open floor planned apartment. The bed was made up nicely, as part of Diana’s morning routine, but there were clothes on the floor around it that had been there for a few days at least. Some of the drawers of the dresser adjacent to the bed were left open, with some having clothes peeking out from the inside. The last think she analyzed was the state of the small kitchen area. Knowing that Diana wasn’t much of a cook to begin with, she could spy take out containers in the bin. There were dirty teacups in the sink just waiting for a good washing, along with a butter knife covered in jam. (toast and jam were Diana’s favorite go-to breakfast)

“If I had known you were in the UK I would have arrived earlier, though it seems that you haven’t been here very long. I’d say just a little over a week, going by the state of your rooms. I do hope your completely prepared for the presentation you’re set to give later this morning. Shouldn’t you be getting dressed already?”, Minerva shot off after the mere seconds it took her to deduce all of this information from the state of the rooms alone. Diana merely rolled her eyes at her sister’s rapid-fire statements. “If you had checked in like we agreed, you would have known about my last-minute offer to come here and study the university’s collection of alchemical texts! I was beginning to worry that something had happened to you!”, Diana chided with an unhappy look on her face.

“The only thing that has happened to me is boredom, and you dear sister, get to help me find something to alleviate it with!”, Minerva stated with a wicked grin plastered across her face. Diana’s face displayed her worry for her sister’s statement as soon as it passed her lips, because she knew what happened when her sister became bored. All of their lives Diana had sought to help her sister find things to occupy her fast-paced mind in the hopes that she wouldn’t seek out quick solutions to eliminate her long-term problem. Boredom was a sickness for her little Mimi, and there wasn’t a cure. Diana was the only member of their little family that knew the lengths her sister had went to alleviate her boredom in the past, and she made her sister promise to never go down that road again! They had an agreement, that if Minerva ever felt that her control was beginning to waver, that she must seek Diana out immediately. “How bad is it?”, Diana asked in a small voice. Minerva knew that tone, Diana was feeling guilty again for things she had no control over. “Not as bad as it could have been.”, was the vague response that Minerva gave back. Diana’s eyes landed on her sister with a look that promised a long lecture on selfcare, but Minerva interrupted her before she could go off on another one of her rants. “Don’t you have a presentation to get ready for? You’re going to be late if you don’t start getting ready now. And we both know how long it takes you to get dressed!”, Minerva stated to deter her sister from the lecture she was seconds from giving.

Diana glanced at the clock on the mantle and realized her sister was right, if she didn’t start getting ready right away, she would be late to her own presentation and she couldn’t let that happen! She had it on good authority that if her presentation went over well today, that she may be receiving an offer to join the university staff. “Fine!”, Diana huffed, “But don’t think this conversation is over! I have some work I need to get done in the Bod after my presentation today and I think you should join me. Meet me at the entrance at 1 o’clock, it won’t be hard for you to find. You can be my research assistant today! But tonight, we’re going to have a long talk about this!”

“Whatever you say mom!”, Minerva said jokingly, “Now get to it! You wouldn’t want to be late on your big day!

Time Skip:

Minerva glanced at the time on her phone as she stood a couple yards away from the entrance to the Bodleian Library, her sister’s home-away-from-home. She knew that she was earlier than the agreed upon meeting time, but she already planned for how she was going to pass what time she had left. With her beloved violin in hand, she began to prepare to play to pass the time. Playing the violin had been one of Minerva’s few passions since she was a young girl. Many people considered her a child prodigy, but she had no desire to use her talents to gain fame. The only time she used her skills for any purpose, other than her own serenity, was when she played to crowds on her journeys. Playing the violin was one of Minerva’s favorite things to do because it allowed her mind to quite down.

When she played, the only senses she used were touch and hearing, and she would lose herself to the rhythm of whatever complicated piece she decided to conquer at the time. And this day was no different. Minerva became so immersed in the music that she had been creating that she didn’t take notice to the large crowd that had gathered around her. Only, once the song she had been playing came to an end, did she finally allow her other senses to wake up and take quick account of the crowd that now surrounded her. She merely gave her audience a small smile and moved on to the next piece she had in mind. She didn’t allow her mind to catalog details from the people around her but gave herself over to her music. But if she had she would have noticed the man… no, the vampire, standing towards the back of the crowd with eyes only for her…

By the time Minerva gave back into the need to use her other senses, the crowd around her had begun to dwindle. Glancing again at the time, she realized most were either heading to partake in a late lunch or had other locations they planned to visit before the campus started shutting down for the day. Not that any of that really mattered to her, she could find the same pleasure playing her music by herself as she could in front of hundreds of strangers, it made no difference. She only ever played for her own enjoyment. Noticing that the time for her scheduled meeting with her sister was rapidly approaching, she began to pack her violin back into its case. She would find time to play again soon.

Just as she completed her task, she noticed her sister approaching her. “So, you decided to mesmerize the poor locals with your sirens call, did you?”, Diana asked jokingly. It was no secret that her sister’s violin playing was enrapturing and could draw a smile from even the surliest of people. “The music just takes control of me sometimes.”, Minerva replied with a small smile and a shrug of her shoulders. But again, Diana knew her sister well enough to know that she only played the violin when she desperately needed to quiet down her mind. Deciding that this would be another point they addressed when they had their talk later that evening, Diana changed the subject. “Well, if the music has decided to release you, I could really use some help with my research today.”, Diana said with a grin.

“You just want me to read your old dusty tombs for you, so you won’t have to multi-task!”, Minerva replied and then proceeded to stick her tongue out at her sister like a child. “You caught me! But it’s also because you’re the only one of us with a photographic memory and I can use you as a reference later on because we’re not allowed to take books out of the library!”, Diana confessed. “So, you admit it, you just use me for my brains!”, Minerva said with a mock look of hurt on her face. “But, also for your beauty,” continued Diana, “if you ask the library assistant for the books, we need we’re sure to get them in record time, no one can say no to this beautiful face Mimi!” Diana said, while pinching her sisters’ cheeks. “Fine! Let’s get your old tombs, the quicker you finish up here, the sooner I can get some food in my stomach!”, Minerva concluded with a grin.


	6. Chapter 5: I Can Hear the Thunder Rolling

Bodleian Library

The sisters were still smiling and carrying on once they entered the Bodleian Library. There were very few people currently occupying the vast number of seats that surrounded centuries old tables. This of course was because classes were still a few weeks away from beginning and most of the staff were busy finalizing lessons or enjoying the last few days of peace before the students made their arrivals. But that isn’t the case for Diana and Minerva. 

As they made their way past the library’s secretarial desk Diana aimed a pointed look at her sister, silently reminding her of the agreement they had made before entering the library. Minerva simply rolled her eyes at her sister and made her way to the desk. “Hi, is this where I come to request books?”, Minerva asked with a small bashful smile while slowly twirling a lock of her hair between her fingers. “Yes! I mean yes, you’re at the right place.”, Sean the library secretary stammered out quickly with a blush on his face. “Here is the slip to fill out the request. If you need me, I mean if you need my help with filling them out just let me know!”. 

“Thanks, but I think I can handle it.”, Minerva answered sweetly. Quickly recalling which manuscripts her sister told her to call up, Minerva completed filling out the papers and handed them back to the still blushing secretary. “I’ll… I’ll have these right out for you….”. “Minerva, Minerva Bishop”, Minerva answered his unasked question. “Oh, are you related to Dr. Bishop?”, he asked. “Yes, I’m her sister actually. I’m here visiting and she kind of roped me in to helping her with her research.”, Minerva answered with a laugh. “So, we’ll be seeing you often while you’re here.”, Sean stated jokingly. “You will if my sister has anything to say about it!”

“So, what is the good Dr. requesting today?”, Sean questioned. “Well, her majesty has requested that I procure Ashmole 37, 92, 183, and 782 for her perusal.”, Minerva said while handing the request slips to Sean. “I’ll have the right out for you madame, and I’ll call for you as soon as her majesty's tombs come up!”, Sean informed her with a bow, playing along with her joke.

“See, I told you that if you were the one to request the books, they would arrive ten times faster than if I were the one to call for them!”, Diana was quick to tell Minerva as she arrived at the table her sister had claimed for them. “Well, don’t say I told you so yet, the books haven’t even arrived yet…”, Minerva began, but before she could finish that thought she was being called back to the front desk to retrieve the requested books. “As you were saying…”, Diana replied with a large grin on her face. “That had nothing to do with my looks, clearly the books arrived quickly due to the fact that we’re one of the only requests that they have had to fill today, due to the lack of scholars currently occupying the library.”, Minerva snapped back quickly. Minerva had never liked to be told that she could get away with anything in the world with just one look. People had always looked at her as just another pretty face and she despised it. She hadn’t graduated with a PHD from Harvard Medical School on looks alone!

Knowing better than to continue this conversation, for she knew that it would end in an argument that could send her sister packing, Diana simply picked up one of the books that her sister dropped loudly onto the table and began studying it. Diana knew that besides her extremely high level of intelligence, which had led to her being ostracized as a child, Minerva’s obvious beauty had always been a sore spot for her. Throughout her school years many boys had so graciously overlooked her “freakishness” and sought to date her due to her looks. And Minerva despised it.

Satisfied that the current topic of conversation was being dropped, Minerva slumped down into the seat across the table from her sister. Tossing a glance across the table at her, she determined that Diana was already enthralled with the ancient manuscript before her and couldn’t be tasked with continuing to talk. Deciding to get to work, as that was the reason her sister had made her come to the library in the first place, Minerva began setting up her area to begin studying one of the other texts set before her. She carefully lifted the next book on the stack and set it before her in the book holder needed for handling these ancient tombs.

The first thing Minerva notices once she has the book in place, is how dark and dusty the cover of the manuscript was. From the looks of it, this book hasn’t been handled in a very, very long time. She makes a mental note of which of the Ashmole manuscripts she has grabbed, taking note that it is Ashmole 782. At first glance this book would seem very plain and ordinary, but to Minerva something felt off about it. She allowed her fingers to gently trace through the layer of dust that coated the front of the book, and as soon as she did her senses went haywire. Something is very wrong, she thought to herself, but she couldn’t pull herself away from the book. Slowly she flipped it open, as though she thought something might jump out at her, but nothing did. On the first page, there were two sets of writing displayed. The first of the two, which was written with an elegant script, read,

_ “Anthropologia, or a treatis containing a short description of Man” _

This of course had to be the writing of Ashmole himself, but this led Minerva to wonder who was the person who wrote the inscription below it.

_ “In two parts: the first Anatomical, the second Psychological” . _

It was obviously written much later than the first inscription, and in pencil no doubt, but who did it? With her senses still extremely heightened, Minerva felt a shift in the very air around her. She glanced towards her sister to see if she showed any signs of noticing this shift herself. Diana merly met her gaze with a look of curiosity on her face. “So you sense it too.”, Minerva mouthed to her sister and received a small nod in return. Looking around them to see if anyone else had noticed what felt like a small shift in the very atmosphere, but discovered that no one else seemed to feel it. Deciding to ignore the feeling Minerva turned her attention back to the text before her. Turning to the next page, Minerva made another mental note that three of the pages looked to have been cut out with some sort of straight edged blade, but seeing nothing else of interest there she moved on. Moving her attention to the next available page, Minerva studied the image drawn onto the age-worn paper. After having helped her sister with her studies and research over the years, Minerva had picked up a great deal of knowledge on all things to do with Alchemy. So looking at the picture before her, she immediately knew that this was supposed to represent the Alchemical child, though she had never seen it depicted this way before. The picture showed an infant floating upside down in some sort of glass vessel. 

Minerva traced the image with her fingers, amazed at the level of artistic skill the person who illustrated the book had possessed. She picked up the page and held it up to the light on the table that was sitting next to her, to examine the image closely and noticed something odd. The light from the lamp revealed what looked like words that had been removed from the page, but she couldn’t make out what any of it said. Quickly she flipped to the back of the page to see if it was just words that were showing through the paper due to the writer pressing down too hard with their writing utensil, but that wasn’t the case. There were no words written on the next page either…

Suddenly, words that were not there before, began to appear on the page and traveled up her fingers that were still holding fast to the paper. The words began moving up her hands and onto her arms. Alarmed by what was happening, Minerva slammed her hands down onto the book, landing them on the depiction of the Alchemical child. As soon as she did this she felt white-hot pain in her right hand. She snatched her hand away from the book and leaped from her chair. Looking at her hand, she noticed what looked like a very bad burn on her palm, and it was in the shape of the vessel that held the Alchemical child in the picture. Glancing quickly from her injured hand to the book laying before her, she reached her other hand forward and slammed the tomb shut. 

Hastily looking around the room, she noticed the other occupants looking at her with disdain at her display. She quietly apologized to the people in the room. She grabbed the cursed book from the table and quickly made her way to the front of the library, where she all but threw the book down onto Sean’s desk, before nearly running towards the exit.

She didn’t look back to see if Diana was following her or if she had even noticed something had happened. All Minerva knew in that moment was that she had to get as far from that book as possible! Finally, she made it back out of the Bod, to the square she had waited for her sister to meet her in earlier. Not looking up from her feet as she walked, she accidently ran into someone in her haste to put the library far behind her. Looking to apologize to the unfortunate bystander that she almost plowed over, she quickly did a double-take. “This can’t be happening! He’s dead, has been for years! How am I seeing him now? Why? Have I finally lost my mind?”, these thoughts passed rapidly through Minerva’s mind, before she uttered one of the names she hadn’t allowed herself to say since she was 5 years old, “Dad?”. 

But he was gone. In fact, there was no one in the square besides herself. She turned in circles hoping to catch a glimpse of him but there was no use, she had to have imagined that, right?

“Mimi, are you okay?”, asked Diana with a panicked look on her face, “What happened in there? Was it the book? I felt that something was off, but just assumed it was something to do with Mabon happening tonight. Talk to me Mimi!”. Minerva just looked back at her sister, face clear of all emotions, but with eyes that told her sister of just how frightened she really was. Before Minerva could respond, one of her sisters' colleagues, Gillian Chamberlin, came rushing out after them. 

“Diana, what happened? Are you okay? I felt something strange happening with our magic, but I was in the back of the library so I didn’t see anything. I was coming out to look when I saw you rushing out and leaving your books at the desk. Were those the Ashmole manuscripts you were talking about?”, Gillian gushed, not leaving herself time to breathe between her questions, much less time for Diana to respond. When it finally seemed that Gillian was finished with her inquisition Diana answered her. “I don’t know what that was! But I’m just gonna take Minerva and we’re gonna finish up our notes from today in our rooms, I’ll see you later!”, Diana spoke quickly, ready to be back in her rooms where she could safely question her sister without others finding out what had truly happened. Diana swiftly made her goodbyes with Gillian and began to lead Minerva back to their apartment. Passing through the arch that led back out onto the main square, neither of the Bishops noticed the man that had been observing them since Gillian had arrived nor did they know just what all he had heard... 

  
  
  



	7. Chapter 6: I Can Hear the Thunder Rolling Pt.2

(Matthew’s POV)

Standing silently in the campus chapel, hands cradling a beautifully crafted rosary, Matthew Clairmont thought this day would turn out to be the same as any other he had experienced throughout the past century. For someone who had lived as long as he, there were very few days that diverged from the pattern of life that he had carefully constructed, but that was about to change… 

Matthew was taken greatly by surprise when moments later he experienced a sudden shift in the very atmosphere around him. This disturbance was like nothing he had ever felt before! Whatever the cause was, it felt as though it was calling out to the very blood slowly traveling through his veins. Without much conscious thought, he began to follow the pull of this strange sensation. As he passed through the doors leading out of the chapel his phone began to ring. With a quick glance to see who the caller was, Matthew distractedly answered the call, still in pursuit of the pull he felt from within his very being. “Is it happening to you?”, asked the caller, a female whose voice sounded as if it were strained. “Yes.”, Matthew replied. “Our blood”, the caller continued, “it’s reacting to something.” 

Matthew quickly ended the call, assuring the person that he was on the hunt for the cause of their distress. As he continued to follow the pull, he swiftly made his way across the campus, projecting his heightened hearing in the hopes that he might hear something that could help him find the cause of this sensation. Suddenly a flock of birds made a hasty retreat from the roof of the Bodleian Library with no obvious cause to make them do so. Matthew altered his course and began to head in that direction. 

As he neared an archway that opened into a courtyard, leading visitors to one of the many entrances to go into the Bod, Matthew finally heard something that might help him solve this mystery. 

“Diana, what happened? Are you okay? I felt something strange happening with our magic, but I was in the back of the library so I didn’t see anything. I was coming out to look when I saw you rushing out and leaving your books at the desk. Were those the Ashmole manuscripts you were talking about?”, Matthew heard a female voice blurt out quickly, leaving the person they were directing these questions very little room to respond. This caught Matthews attention quickly. “That can’t be right,”Matthew thought, “I’ve been searching for that book for centuries, and it's been here all along!” His disbelief at the possibility that the book had somehow finally been discovered was quickly overshadowed by dread at the thought of what could happen if the witches got their hands on it. He continued to listen closely to see if they would confirm his suspicions. 

“I don’t know what that was! But I’m just gonna take Minerva and we’re gonna finish up our notes from today in our rooms, I’ll see you later!”, he heard another woman respond. Matthew stood near the archway observing the women, the one who had just finished speaking was a young blonde haired woman wearing a white shirt, layered with a navy blue blazer and a light blue coat, both of which complemented her bright blue eyes greatly. He could sense the great power that coursed through her witch’s blood, he hadn’t encountered a witch this powerful in centuries! He then turned his attention to the woman the blue eyed lady was speaking to. Gillian Chamberlin, Matthew thought of the name while giving a mental eye roll. Gillian was a known member of the Oxford coven and no one on campus truly cared for her nosiness. But the person who truly caught Matthew’s attention was the silent brunet standing half behind the blonde. He could sense a power in her the likes he'd never before seen, but that wasn't all he sensed from her, there was something in her scent that seemed to call to him. She smelled wild, similar to the wolves he had observed in Norway, but he couldn’t understand why. He had never met anyone with a scent similar to her own. She was observing the two before her with a clear look of fear in her beautiful hazel eyes but a face clear of all emotion. The way she studied the women before her, taking account of every movement, observing the few people who also occupied the courtyard, also reminded Matthew of the wolves. She seemed to be mentally cataloging everything happening around her. It was as though she wanted to draw as little attention to herself as possible, especially from Gillian, not that he could fault her for this. All of these behaviors reminded him of the time he spent observing Norwegian wolves, their habits, the way they stalked prey… He had never seen anyone like her before. 

Trying to lock back in on the conversation before him, Matthew couldn’t tear his eyes away from the silent beauty. He had all but forgotten the strange sensation that had led him to trek halfway across campus in search of the source. He watched as she observed those before her with a look of understanding on her face, as though she had come to some quick conclusion that no one else was privy of. Taking note of the goodbyes being exchanged and the swiftly retreating blonde, along with her still silent companion, Matthew quickly pulled out his cellphone and pretended that he was focused intently on something displayed on its screen. Allowing himself to quickly glance once more at the mysterious brunet, Matthew felt a sudden pull from deep within himself to follow her. A sense of protectiveness like he had never known began to seep through him and one thought sounded loudly in his mind, 

“Mate.”

  
  



	8. Chapter 7: When Lightning Strikes

Once they had arrived at their rooms, finally enclosed in a space where they felt a semblance of safety, Minerva was quickly enveloped in a hug from her sister. Minerva’s entire body stiffened at the sudden contact, not used to people invading her personal space, but soon relaxed into the hold Diana had on her. After a few moments, Diana finally released her sister and grasped her lightly by the shoulders. 

“What happened?Are you hurt? What was in that manuscript?” Diana fired these questions in quick succession, her worry for her sister clearly written across her face. 

“I’m not sure what happened Di. I pulled the book, Ashmole 782, from your stack and began to study it. The first thing I noticed was that someone had written on the first page, right below Ashmole’s inscription.” “ Ashmole had written, “Anthropologia, or a treatis containing a short description of Man”, Minerva recited the quote from memory, “while the other person added below it, “ In two parts: the first Anatomical, the second Psychological.” 

“What else did you notice?”, asked Diana, who was hanging on her sisters every word. 

“The next thing I noticed was that someone had removed the next three pages with some sort of straight edged knife, but neither of these things were as strange as what I saw next. The next page had a beautiful drawing of what must have been the alchemical child. But I’d never seen it represented like that before in any of your other books.” 

Minerva dashed to her sister's desk across the room in search of a pen and paper to draw the image that was still so vivid in her mind. Once she completed her rendition of the picture, she handed it to her sister so that she could study the image. While Minerva could memorize every word she had ever read, she wasn’t an expert at applying all of that knowledge. Diana was the expert in alchemy between the two of them. After viewing the drawing, Diana agreed that she too had never seen the Alchemical child represented in that way. 

“When I raised the page closer to the light to get a better look, I noticed that there looked like there were words hidden on the page,” Minerva continued relaying her findings, “so I flipped it over to the back to see if they were just words that had bled through but there were none there. It was like someone had removed them. All of a sudden, words started moving across the paper and traveling up my fingers and onto my arms. I panicked and slammed my hands onto the page with the drawing, but when I did I felt this burning sensation in my hand. Then I ran out.” 

Diana reached out for her sister's hand, wanting to see if any mark was made by the burning pain her sister had felt. Both sisters gasped when they saw the burn mark left on the palm of Minerva’s hand. 

“What should we do?”, Minerva asked. 

“I think we should call Sarah and Em to see if they know what the book is.” 

Diana replied. Both sisters were reluctant to make the call. Minerva was hesitant, she had always felt like the odd one out of her family. Not only for her heightened intelligence and senses, but also because she harly possessed any magic and what little she did she had no control over. She felt like an outsider, the black sheep. That was why she tried so hard to be independent from them. And now to have some sort of magical book react to her, it made her seem even weirder, and she didn’t want her aunts to know about it.

While Minerva never had much magic to control and didn’t seek to learn about it, Diana had tried to refuse that part of herself for most of her life. Yes she learned enough about it to control it, but Diana made it a point to never practice if she could help it. She wanted to be normal, this was greatly due to the fact that she didn’t want to have magic if her sister didn’t. She just didn’t think it was fair. And because of this, Diana and Sarah were known to have frequent arguments over her decision to ignore her very nature.

Finally, after much debate, the sisters picked up the phone and called home. 

“Hello”, a sleep riddled voice spoke across the line. 

Neither sister had thought to check what time it was back home before calling.

“Hey, uh it’s me.” Diana responded after throwing her sister an aggravated glance for not being the one to begin this conversation, she was the reason they were calling after all. 

“Hey, you alright?”, Sarah asked suddenly sounding more awake, “It’s 5 o’clock in the morning Diana.”

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. Something’s happened.”, Diana said while making a hand gesture to Minerva, indicating that she should speak as well.

“You alright hon?”, concern had begun to creep into Sarah’s voice.

“No Diana is fine Aunt Sarah, so am I. I was helping Diana study today in the Bod, and I took out a manuscript. But it was bewitched or something.” Minerva said, finally joining the conversation.

“Was it a grimoire Mimi?” Sarah asked.

“No, it was an Ashmole manuscript. There were alchemical illustrations.”

“Uh-huh, what else?”, Sarah urged Minerva on.

“Uh... , moving under the pages, I… I couldn’t read it.”

“Definitely sounds like it was bewitched. How did you unravel the spell? Did you say any words?”, Sarah pressed on. Minerva quickly began to grow angry at her aunt's questions.

“There was no witchcraft involved Sarah. How many times… You know that I refuse to practice, and that Mimi can’t control it. We couldn’t wait to get rid of it. We returned it.”, 

Diana finally joined back into the conversation, seeing the growing look of anger on her sister's face. She knew that if her aunt continued to drill her sister with these questions, especially asking if she had used her magic, that this conversation was going to soon escalate into a screaming match. The Bishop women were well-known for three things: magic, stubbornness, and that they were quick to anger. Minerva had always seemed to be on a short fuse, but today the fuse seemed even shorter.

“What?!?! Minerva! Diana! We’ve always told both of you… if you ever come across something magical, you should try to understand it!”, Sarah made her feelings of aggravation and disappointment for their actions well known.

“Honey, what is happening?”, asked a soft voice. It seemed that they’re argument had finally woken Emily.

“It’s the girls. Minerva discovered some magical book.”, Sarah huffed. 

“That is not even why we called. It’s- it’s what happened afterwards.”, Minerva added, tossing a hesitant glance to her sister. Diana had no clue what Minerva was talking about. She thought they were just seeking advice about what to do with the book.

“I think- I think I saw Dad…”, Minerva continued, refusing to look to see what Diana’s reaction might be.

“What do you mean, you saw your dad?”, questioned Emily.

“He was just as I remembered him. When I left the Bodleian I ran into a man, and when I turned to apologize, he was there. Then in an instant he was gone. What do you think it means?”, Minerva asked, still refusing to make eye contact with Diana.

“Well honey, we’re never gonna know now are we? You’ve given it back. Really girls, it’s time you both faced what you are- witches!”, Sarah chastised them. Minerva was seeing red at this point. So this was her fault? How was she to know this would happen? She had never had enough magic to learn a spell, much less call on some ancient magical book. And now Sarah was mad because she wouldn’t act like a witch?!!? Minerva stood from her seat on the couch swiftly and left the room. Diana watched as she walked away, knowing to leave her to calm down, if she went after her that would result in another argument and Minerva would leave.

“We’ve been over this, Sarah. I’m a historian, and Minerva is… well she’s whatever she decides to be whether that is a musician, medical biochemist, artist, who knows. But that’s what we are.”, Diana argued for what felt like the millionth time, “Oxford might offer me a professorship. Which would allow me to keep a closer eye out on Minerva.”

“Oh honey! That is wonderful news, Diana. How is she honey, she hasn’t called, except to ask where you are staying.” Emily was so proud of Diana, but she had begun to worry about Minerva. Over the years, Minerva had become more distant, leaving to travel the world with very little contact with her family. They all worried for her greatly and were glad that she finally sought Diana out. But it was like she was searching for something. She traveled from place to place and when the boredom set back in she moved again. She was becoming more aloof and aggressive, and they had no clue how to help her. 

“Yeah, well I don’t have it yet. I have to get a paper written. Which is what Minerva was helping me do in the Bod. She’s not doing great and I think this is making it worse. I’m afraid that she might leave again after this.”, Diana confessed, afraid that her sister couldn’t handle the events from the day.

“Wait! Wait! You can’t just hide in your work. And your sister can’t keep running. She saw your father, this is important! If the books bewitched there’s no telling how Minerva unlocked the spell. You have to get her to take the book out again! You both need to work out what’s going on.”, Sarah insisted. She was tired of seeing her nieces wasting the potential that was clearly inside them!

“That may be what you would do Sarah, but we’re not you. We called for your advice, not another lecture!” , with that being said Diana ended the call, not allowing time for Sarah to continue her rant.

Deciding that her sister had enough time to cool down, Diana sought her out. Diana entered her room to find her sister, sitting on the seal of the open window with her legs dangling outside. Minerva paid her sister no mind, for her attention was drawn completely to the almost full moon shining bright in the sky. The anger she had felt seemed to drain right out of her as the light from the moon touched her face like the warm caress of a hand. Diana was the only one to notice the slight golden glow that began to creep into her sister's irises, but she made no comment on it. This, just like her anger, beauty, intelligence, agility; had always just been a part of who her sister is. No one ever thought to question it. Neither knew that all those unanswered questions would finally be answered before much longer. 

Diana quietly made her way over to her sister, having no desire to break the serene mood her sister so rarely experienced. She gently laid her hand on Minerva’s shoulder, and gazed at the moon with her. After a few minutes, the almost trance like state that Minerva had entered ended, and she turned her attention to her sister. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”, asked Diana.

“Because, I didn’t think it was real, I thought I had finally gone crazy.”, replied Minerva so softly that her sister almost didn’t catch it.

Minerva soon found herself once again in her sister’s embrace, but this time she didn’t become tense she relaxed into it immediately. Minerva had missed this, having her sister there to comfort her. 

“Don’t worry Mimi, you’re just as sane as I am!”, Diana told her sister with a grin.

“Well, if that’s the case. We’ve jumped down the rabbit hole this time Alice and we’re both the maddest of hatters!”, Minerva answered with a wide grin and they were both overcome with laughter.

*Time Skip*

The Bodleian Library

After both agreeing that it was best to ignore the book for now, the sisters spent the rest of their evening catching up. Minerva relayed tales of her adventures across the world, while Diana told her about the books she had recently published. Overall, they just had a wonderful evening spending time with each other, drinking, eating, and having fun.

Waking up the next morning, Diana decided that it was time for them to start back to work, she had a paper that needed to be completed after all! Minerva and Diana set out for the library once again, stopping for breakfast along the way. Both of the sisters agreed that they would act as if nothing had occurred the day before, and if Gillian came around asking, that they still had no clue what happened. 

Arriving at the library mid morning, there were no other professors or campus faculty occupying the library besides those who ran the library itself. Diana and Minerva were happy to have the space to themselves and expected to get a great deal of work done that day. Having completed reading through her part of the list of sources Diana had created for them, Minerva set out to gather her part of the reading material. Climbing up the spiral staircase, she made her way towards the second floor of the library in the search of the first book on her mental checklist. “Notes and queries, notes and queries.”, Minerva recited under her breath as she searched the titles of the books displayed before her. Finally spotting the book she was after, just to discover that it was too high up on the shelf for her to reach, Minerva softly cursed under her breath. Stretching her arm as high as it could go and even standing on her tiptoes, she still could not reach it. Minerva let out a huff of air and decided to see if she could jump up and reach it. Minerva jumped up, with her arm stretched above her and just as her fingers skimmed the spine of the book, it was thrown from the shelf by an invisible force and tossed over the second floor railing. Minerva quickly made her way over to the railing, just in time to see a man catch the book as it made it’s rapid descent. The man, with his head bowed over the book in his hand, slowly lifted his head. The breath swiftly retreated from Minerva’s lungs as her eyes locked onto those of the man standing below her. She had never experienced anything like this before, it was as though something had begun to pull a chain bound deep inside her, and she knew without a doubt that if she followed the pull it would lead to him.

He lifted the book towards her and spoke. “Your’s, I believe.”

Not wishing to break eye contact with this mysterious man, Minerva slowly made her way back down to the first floor of the library. Hand cradled to her chest, Minerva finally stopped to stand before him. 

“That’s a nasty burn.”, he spoke again, glancing at the hand she used to take back the book he offered to her.

Diana, finally noticing that they were no longer alone in the library, swiftly made her way to her sister's side. 

“You're a vampire.”, Diana stated, though this comment did nothing to break the man’s focus on her sister.

He merely reached into the suit jacket that he wore and retrieved a business card from within. He gave this to Minerva, whom he still hadn’t broken eye contact with. It was as if both of them were afraid that if they looked away the other would disappear.

Finally breaking eye contact long enough to read over the card now in her hand, Minerva read it and passed it on to her sister. 

“Professor Matthew Clairmont, Biochemistry.”, Minerva recited from the card she had read moments before.

Matthew turned his gaze to Diana, “Dr. Diana Bishop, and you must be the lovely Dr. Minerva Bishop.”, he finished, looking back at Minerva. “I found your article on color symbolism in alchemical transformation fascinating, and your work on Robert Boyle’s approach to problems of expansion and contraction quietly persuasive. You have a wonderful way of evoking the past for the reader.”, Matthew spoke again to Diana, though he was still completely focused on her sister.

“Thank you.”, Diana replied.

“Dr. Minerva, your research article on ways on how to prevent endovascular strokes was groundbreaking, the way that you came up with it is phenomenal.”, Matthew complimented Minerva softly, and not being used to such compliments from people other than her family members, Minerva began to blush. “I’m hardly to forget you now, after that.”, he stated, allowing his gaze to travel up to the second floor as though to remind her of what had occurred moments before.

“I didn’t think that witches were allowed to show their magic in public.”, Matthew questioned with an eyebrow raised.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen.”, Minerva said quickly, still not breaking this new connection she felt to the man before her.

“Not in control of yourself, Dr. Bishop?”, he asked, now with a small grin present on his face.

“She’s perfectly in control. Thank you. Now if you’ll excuse us, Professor Clairmont, we have to get back to work.”,Diana answered for her sister. This conversation needed to end now. She had to practically drag her sister away from the vampire, who still stood before them with eyes only for her sister. Diana didn’t know what he wanted with them, but she didn’t like the effect he was having on Minerva. Minerva had never acted like this before. Diana’s sudden pull on her arm caused Minerva to finally look away from the Professor, but when she turned back to see him again he was gone, and the pull that she’d felt since she first laid eyes on him began to ache within her.

  
  
  
  



	9. Chapter 8: Here Comes the Rain

After the sudden departure of the newly introduced Professor Clairmont, Diana set straight back to work on her research. The same couldn’t be said for Minerva. Her thoughts remained on the sudden pull she felt that drew her to Matthew, and the effect it seemed to have on him as well. She had never experienced anything like it before, and it frightened her. All her life she had sought to control herself and her emotions around people, her family included. She had built a wall to protect herself, but with one look at Matthew Clairmont it seemed as though that wall had crumbled. She couldn’t let that happen! Minerva took the time her sister spent reemerging herself in her research, to rebuild her mental barricades against the emotions that had flooded her system moments before. She wasn’t going to allow some stranger, no matter how mysterious and handsome he might be, to turn her into some simpering, doe-eyed girl. She was Minerva Valeria Bishop! One of the youngest people ever to graduate from Harvard Medical School with a PHD in Biochemistry. She was an artist. A musician. Not some dewy-eyed, school girl, who falls head over heels for the first man that looks her way! Deciding to just pretend the entire exchange had never happened, ignore the strange pull she felt, and to move on; Minerva began to help Diana continue her work. 

That evening after many more hours of working in the library, the sisters returned to their rooms and enjoyed a quiet night in. But that night as she slept, Minerva dreamed. 

She had been having the same recurring dream for years, since she was very young. In her dreams she always sees a wolf, running through a dense forest. The wolf had always seemed as if it were chasing after something or someone, but this time it was different. This time the wolf was running with something, another wolf maybe, no… not another wolf, but a person, a man. Minerva couldn’t quite make out what he looked like but he was tall with dark hair and he was incredibly fast. He was so fast that he had to have been a vampire. But why was she dreaming of the wolf she had always seen running with this man? And why did she feel a need to know who this man is, even in her dreams.

Minerva awoke suddenly the next morning clutching to the birthmark on her right shoulder, not out of pain but because there was a strange tingling sensation going through it that she had never felt before. She had been told she was born with this strange mark on her right shoulder blade, but it was unlike anything she had ever seen. It looked like some sort of symbol, it was a crescent moon with a star over the top of it. 

***Time Skip***

The sisters began their day as though nothing had occurred the day before. They had breakfast, got dressed, and set out to continue their research at the Bodleian Library. 

After working nonstop on their research project for a few hours, the sisters decided that it was time they took a well-deserved break for lunch. They retreated from the library, and their search for sustenance led them to Brown’s Cafe.

“Minerva, go ahead and place our order while I go and save us a table.”,Diana requested upon entering the cafe,”You know what I like.”

Minerva went to the front counter and placed their orders while Diana found them a place to sit at the bar that ran along the front window of the cafe. Diana, deciding to make most of the time they had before their food arrived, decided to do some research on their new “friend” from the library. Arriving at the table her sister had chosen and discovering what her sister was up to, Minerva simply rolled her eyes at Diana.

“So you’ve taken up stalking the man on the internet, dear sister?”, Minerva asked with an eyebrow raised.

Diana shrugged her shoulders at her sister’s obvious disdain for her current search, “I’m simply trying to see what kind of person the man is that has taken such an interest in you, dear sister!”,she replied with a smirk plastered across her face.

Minerva shot Diana a nasty glare from over the laptop that sat between them. “The man had no interest in me Di, he was simply introducing himself to a possible work colleague and I just happened to have an accidental bout of magic.”, Minerva said, denying the very possibility that the man might have shown any interest in her in the hopes that the sudden tug from within her at the mere thought of him would disappear. 

Not at all convinced by her sister’s adamant denial that Matthew Clairmont was at all attracted to the likes of her, Diana continued her search to learn more about this mysterious man. Continuing her search, even after their food arrived, Diana shared any and all information that she found of significance, which seemed to be very little. 

“Obviously there isn’t much about him on the internet Diana, he is a vampire after all! He must be discrete or he will be found out!”, Minerva scolded her sister’s lack of common sense. All of a sudden she felt the pull beginning to act up once more and was confused, but no sooner had she finished her comment did they very man himself enter the cafe they were currently occupying.

Diana, who was preparing to refute the claim that she had no common sense, hadn’t noticed the arrival of the object of their discussion. This allowed Matthew to see that his name was typed into the search bar on the laptop sitting before them.

“Anything of interest?”, Matthew asked, causing Diana to jump in surprise.

“You’re following us.”, Diana shot back at him. Matthew walked to the end of the table closest to Minerva and leaned his back against the wall. 

“Well, we will soon be working in the same place.”, he directed this at Diana, “and your sister seems to be working with you at the moment. It’s hardly strange that our paths should cross again.”, Matthew finished, eyes drawn back to Minerva’s to continue their seemingly never ending stare-off. Minerva turned her gaze out the window before her, trying to ignore the ache in her very bones to look back at him, to move closer, maybe even let her hand meet his on the table…. ‘Oh no, this isn’t happening!’, she thought to herself, quickly becoming angry at the lack of control she felt over her own body.

Diana, having glanced towards her sister to see how she reacted to the reappearance of this strange man, quickly noticed the look of rising anger on her face. She didn’t understand what had triggered her sister’s sudden mood shift, but could only guess it had to do with the man standing before them. She decided that he needed to leave them alone, before Minerva’s temper could finally snap.

“You knew who we were yesterday.”, Diana was quickly becoming aggravated with this conversation herself.

“I’d call that a professional hazard. Your photographs in the back of all your books”, Matthew reminded Diana, “and also included at the top of all of your research papers.” The last part was directed at Minerva, who’s anger was steadily increasing. Matthew, confused as to why she would no longer look at him, and feeling a similar ache because of it, went to stand closer to her. But a pointed look from her sister advised him against it. He couldn’t understand why she would warn him away from Minerva, beside the fact that she must be trying to protect her from him. It was the exact opposite, as he was soon to find out.

Again, trying to draw his attention away from her sister, Diana continued, “We checked in with the staff at the Bod. You were in and out of there 5 minutes max. You were looking for us. Not because you enjoyed my thesis on Robert Boyle, or found Minerva’s research article on strokes phenomenal. What do you want Professor Clairmont?” 

“That’s a fair question. You called up an Ashmole manuscript earlier this week and something happened, was it Ashmole 782?”, asked Matthew, realizing that if he didn’t get to his point, then the Bishop's were close to ending the conversation. “I’m assuming you used magic to retrieve it.”

This statement finally succeeded in setting Minerva off. She felt her anger rise quickly to the surface, but what she failed to notice was that in the reflection showing in the glass before her, was that her irises had begun to glow like molten hot gold. 

“For your information, Diana isn’t the one who called up the book, I did!”, Minerva bit out, finally turning her anger on its intended target, “Why do you care anyway? Alchemy’s not your area.”

Matthew was stunned into silence at the sight of the golden eyes that stared deeply into his own. He had never seen anything like it before in all his years. He could sense the very power that seemed to roll off of her in waves, and it wasn’t just caused by her magic. There was something else, but that can’t be right, right? There were only three types of creatures in the world, but none of them had glowing gold eyes. So, what is she, other than a witch? Finally over the shock of seeing this, he realized the cause. Minerva was angry, he felt a burning desire to comfort her immediately but didn’t know why or how, so he simply tried to defuse the situation.

“This is about a great deal more than just Alchemy. Where’s the manuscript now?”, Matthew asked Minerva softly, seeking to calm her obvious anger.

“Where it always is,” Diana tried to intervene, finally realizing what Matthew had seen and catching on to the fact that he was trying to keep the peace, “You can’t take books out of the Bodleian.” Diana decided that enough was enough, her sister had accidently exposed one of her unique abilities and needed to leave now. “Excuse us.”

Realizing that Diana was trying to make a hasty retreat for herself along with Minerva, and feeling an instinctive desire to keep Minerva near him and to comfort her, Matthew sought to stall them for a few moments longer. “Dr. Bishop, please hear me out.”

Minerva caught her sister by the hand as she tried to retreat. She didn’t know what caused her to do it, or why she wanted to stay as close to the vampire as possible.

“No one has seen that book for a very long time, and it’s not just me that wants it. Word is spreading.”, Matthew was interrupted from continuing by a quiet rumbling growl that seemed to resonate from deep within Minerva’s chest. This sound sent an instinctive shiver down his spine, it should have caused him to feel threatened, but it did the exact opposite. He needed to know what was causing this! “It might be safer for you if the creatures of Oxford knew that it was no longer in your possession.”

“Is that a threat?”, Diana snapped at him, clutching to her sister’s hand that had yet to release her arm.

“No.”, Matthew answered quickly, with a look of confusion, “It’s a warning. You need to be careful.”

Minerva shot up from her chair, ignoring the desire of every cell of her body to stay close to Matthew, and dragged Diana up and behind her. She suddenly felt a bone deep desire to take her sister, run back to their room, and barricade the doors. It felt like something was scratching her from within, trying to break out at the sign of the threat that the creatures of the area now seemed to pose to her pack. Pack? Packs are for wolves, and she was very much human (if not a tad bit of a witch). 

Diana allowed her sister to drag her from her seat with no sign of protest. Minerva always became overly protective of their family at even the smallest sign of a threat. No one in their small family had ever questioned these things about Minerva, they just chalked it up to being a part of her magic.

“We will be, goodby Professor Clairmont.”, Diana concluded the conversation, retrieved her things from the table, and led her sister from the café.

Ignoring the desire to turn back and look at Matthew, Minerva allowed her sister to lead her away, all the while she was experiencing the same tingling sensation on her shoulder as the one that had woke her that morning.

***Time Skip***

The Bodleian Library

After taking a much needed walk around campus to help Minerva regain control of her anger, the sisters returned to the library to continue their work. Minerva, reaching the end of her sisters list of resources that needed to be reviewed, was growing bored quickly. She pulled some of the spare paper in the center of the table to her and began to draw. So lost in her thoughts, Minerva didn’t pay much attention to what she was actually drawing until it was completed. Finally looking up to see her finished project, she paused. Before her sat a perfect illustration of Professor Matthew Clairmont. ‘Why can’t I get him out of my head!’, she thought in exasperation. 

Realizing that her sister was beginning to pack up her supplies, Minerva finally turned her attention back to her, in preparation for their departure. Following her sister towards the exit, and still caught up in her thoughts, she barely caught the end of Diana’s conversation with Sean. They asked her if she wanted to go out for drinks with them, but she turned them down. She had too much on her mind to really enjoy a night out.

“Well, have fun without me Di. I’m probably just gonna go back to our rooms and sketch for a while.”, Minerva sent Diana and Sean off with a wave after they walked her back to New College Building. 

Minerva entered the rooms that she currently shared with her sister and looked around. ‘Do I really wanna sit around and sketch all night, or should I go explore the campus?’, Minerva asked herself, suddenly feeling the desire to explore the surrounding area, she chose the latter. On her way back out the door she paused, seeing her violin case propped against the wall where she left it last, she decided that she needed to play it again. So, with her violin case in hand, Minerva set out on her nighttime adventure.

Minerva wandered around the campus for sometime before she finally decided to stop near a part of the campus called All Souls. She had no clue how she had come to arrive at this college in particular, due to letting her mind wander as she explored, but something seemed to draw her to it. Standing near the fountain at the center of All Souls courtyard entrance (similar to that of New College), Minerva unpacked her violin and prepared to play for a while. 

Like every other time in her short life, as soon as the bowe drew across the strings, Minerva became lost in her music. She became unaware of her surroundings and let the music flow through her. The only thing that alerted her to his presence was the tingling sensation that moved through her birthmark, then the icy feeling that all witches experience when a vampire glances their way. Minerva chose to ignore Matthew’s presence and continue her song. 

Matthew’s POV

Matthew followed the sweet melody being played to the courtyard of his college within the same moment he first heard it. He recognized the artist immediately as being the very same one he listened to days before in front of the Bodleian Library. Matthew now recognized the artist as none other than Dr. Minerva Bishop herself. 

He saw her shoulders tense as she felt his gaze land on her, but she ignored it. The woman standing before him seemed like a completely different person, to the one that had left him sitting in Brown’s Café earlier that day. The peace and serenity she experienced as she played seemed to roll off her in waves. Matthew had never met someone whose emotions seemed to permeate the very air around them when they reached heightened levels. Everything about this creature amazed and confused him. ‘What had caused her eyes to turn gold? Why did she feel each emotion so strongly? How could she sense his presence from yards away, when he usually had to be standing a few feet away from other witches, for them to be able to sense him? What made him feel so drawn to her? And why did he feel as though he would steal the very moon and stars from the sky just to see her smile again?’.These, along with many other thoughts about the mysterious creature before him ran through his mind at the sight of her. But making no move to walk any closer to her, he just observed her and allowed her presence to soothe the beast within him like nothing ever had before. 

  
  
  



	10. Here Comes the Rain Pt.2

After playing for quite some time, Minerva came to the realization that her new acquaintance had no intentions of leaving. ‘Is it because he enjoys my music? Or maybe he thinks he can speak to me alone, without Diana present, and actually get the answers he is looking for. Or perhaps he feels the same strange desire to be near me, as I feel to be near him.’, Minerva thought to herself, ‘But that’s not possible, he can’t feel the same way I do, this is complete madness!’. The tirade of thoughts running through her mind had successfully distracted Minerva, and the song she was currently playing came to an abrupt end. Nothing had ever caused this to happen before, music had always been the key to successfully riding her mind of any unwanted thoughts and had always worked… until now… until this mysterious man decided to enter her life, unexpectedly, and successfully turn it upside down within the two times they had ever spoken. No one had ever had this effect on her, she hadn’t allowed it. Minerva used her intelligence as an armour to keep others from getting too close to her and it had always, always worked… until now. This scared her and made her furious. Minerva quickly turned in the direction she felt Matthew’s presence linger, and made her way towards him. Stopping before him suddenly, to his great surprise, with her violin still gripped tightly in one hand, Minerva used the other to jab a finger to this chest. “Okay buddy, I don’t know what it is you want from me, other than that damn book, but whatever this is your doing to me needs to stop! I don’t know alot about vampires, but if this is some kind of trick to make me give the book to you, so help me, I’ll end you!”, Minerva growled out, the golden glow returning to her irises with her increasing anger. Matthew, still surprised by her suddenly appearing before him, along with the glow of her presently golden eyes, which he now knew was closely connected to her rising levels of heightened emotions, knew that he had to calm her down before something bad could happen, though he didn’t know what that could be. “So you feel it too, the pull deep within your chest to be near me , just as I feel to be near you?”, Matthew asked, that has to be what has caused her anger, but why?. “I assure you this is not my doing, and I have no clue what is causing it. I also wouldn’t use any power that I may possess to trick you into giving me anything, that’s not how I work!”, Matthew rushed to reassure her, sensing the still rising anger within her. “I’ve spent my entire life controlling my emotions and keeping people out, just for you to swoop in and shatter every ounce of control that I have. How did you do it? Why? What could you possibly want from me other than that book? You have to stop! Now! MAKE IT STOP!”, the hand that she had jabbed into his chest was now balled up into a fist, hitting him with each word she growled at him, until she reached the end. Her heart rate and breathing steadily increased with each word, with each hit, until she screamed the last three words at him. She could feel the panic beginning to course through her veins. Minerva was very familiar with this feeling after having suffered from panic attacks her entire life. As this one began to overwhelm her senses, the hand that she had used to hit him suddenly fisted his shirt in her grip. Matthew quickly realized what was happening, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. One hand moved around her waist to support her, while the other curled through her hair leading her head to rest against his. Their foreheads were pressed together as he whispered assurrences to her. After noticing that this wasn’t helping, Matthew loosened the grip she had on his shirt and laid her hand flat against his chest, over his heart. “Minerva, listen to me, I want you to focus on the beating of my heart. We vampires may be dead, but our hearts still beat, very slowly. I want you to match your breathing to the beating. Can you do that?”, Matthew asked, desperate to calm her down before she could pass out. She nodded jerkily in reply, unable to form any words at the moment. As Minerva sought to do this, Matthew continued to speak to her softly, “I don’t know what is causing this pull between us, but I will find out, I promise! I would never force you into doing anything you aren’t comfortable with, and that includes whatever is causing this bond. You will have a choice, no matter what, I swear to you!” Calmed by the soft reassurances being spoken to her, and the rhythm of his slowly beating heart, Minerva finally came back to herself. Embarrassed that she had broken down completely in front of Matthew, she tried to retreat from his arms, but he held fast. Looking up to meet his gaze, Minerva saw nothing but kindness, worry, and a desire to help her in his eyes. Quickly breaking eye contact once more, she looked down to the hand that still rested on his chest, “I’m so, so sorry about that! I don’t know what came over me! Are you hurt, did I hurt you?”, the golden color of her irises quickly gave way to her stunning green eyes as she returned to herself. “What are you?”, Matthew asked breathlessly, fascinated with the creature he still held in his arms. He’d never seen eyes like hers before, and he knew without a doubt that she wasn’t just a witch. “What are you talking about? I’m just a witch, if you can even call me that!”,Minerva's brow was arched and mouth was drawn tight, thrown off completely by his question. “I’ve never seen a witch’s eyes change colors the way that your’s do!”, he argued. “What are you talking about? My eyes don’t change colors! They are green, always have been!”, Minerva couldn’t understand why he was saying this, no one had ever said this to her before. “You don’t know? How could you not know this? Surely you’re joking. Someone, your sister perhaps, has never commented on the fact that your eyes change from green to gold when you experience some form of heightened emotion?”, he was completely bewildered by this, “It happened today, in Brown’s Cafe, your sister saw it as well! She treated it as a normal occurrence and sought to calm you down. Are you telling me you had no clue that this was happening to you?” Minerva was at a loss for words, if Matthew was telling her the truth, then this was yet another thing that made her freakier than everyone else. How could Diana not tell her about this? Sarah? Em? How could they keep this from her?! She couldn’t help but to think about the times she would lose control over her emotions, did this happen every time? “You truly didn’t know?”, Matthew questioned softly. Still unable to speak, she simply shook her head at him in response. “How could they not tell me?”, she asked quietly glancing up to meet his gaze from beneath her long lashes,” Why does it always have to happen to me? The book? My eyes? My birthmark…” “Birthmark? What’s so odd about your birthmark?” Minerva’s face was overcome with a rosey blush, she hadn’t meant for that last part to slip out. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve had this birthmark on my right shoulder,” she explained as she turned around and began to shrug her loose top off her shoulder, “I’ve never seen or heard of anyone having one similar to it, and I’ve looked up the symbol for years with no luck as to finding out what it could be.” With her shirt shifted enough to expose the mark, Matthew gasped sharply once he could see it in its entierty. He knew that mark, but how and why was it on her shoulder… Glancing back quickly at hearing him, Minerva saw the look of recognition written across his face. “Do you know what this is?”, she asked, the hope for answers clear in her voice. “Yes… that’s my crest… my mark… b-but how is it on you?” “Your mark? Why would I have that? And how?” “I don’t know… but we’ll figure it out…” Before he could finish his declaration, Minerva’s cell phone began to go off, her sister’s ringtone deafening. “Hello… Yes, I’ll meet you there… see you soon.”, she ended the phone call quickly and turned back to Matthew. “I have to go…” “I understand, I’ll look into this… along with the other things we’ve discussed… I promise that I will help you find the answers you seek.” Minerva gave a short nod in response, she didn’t understand why, but she believed him. “Thank you… Matthew, I guess this is goodnight then. She didn’t wait for his reply, the phone call she had received reminded her that she had some questions to ask her sister, and she wanted those answers now.

**~Time Skip~**

Minerva made it back to her sister’s rooms quickly, with one goal ringing through her mind, she wanted answers and she wanted them now! She burst through the doors, causing a shrill shriek to be heard from her sister who was waiting in the living room with their dinner. Minerva marched over to the couch and stood before Diana, eyes shifted back to gold due to her anger. Diana knew that something terrible must have happened to set her sister off like this, and from the looks of it her anger was directed at her. Letting this realization wash over her, Diana felt a shiver of fear roll down her spine, she had never seen her sister this angry before, especially not at her! Diana slowly stood from her seat on the couch with her hands raised before her, “Mimi, what’s wrong? What happened?”, her voice sounding strangled due to her fear. Knowing that it must be happening at this moment due to her rage, Minerva merely pointed to her own eyes. “How could you not tell me about this??! You knew about it and never told me! Do Sarah and Em know… ohh well of course they do! But why didn’t you ever tell me?”, as her anger continued to rise, Minerva felt that same clawing within herself as before. Like something was trying to claw its way out of her chest. “What’s happening to me?? Your eyes don’t do this, so why do mine? Why do these things always happen to me? I’m already a freak, I don’t need to add any more abnormal traits to that!”, her anger left her suddenly and she began to sob uncontrollably. Seeing her sister as she began to break like she never had before, Diana rushed to her side and encircled her in her arms tightly. “Oh Mimi, you’re not a freak. You’re my sister and I love you! We never told you because we didn’t want you to feel this way. It’s always been a part of who you are, I’m honestly surprised you’ve never noticed.” “What do you mean?”, Minerva asked with a tilt of her head. “Ever since you were a baby, if you would get mad or sad or super happy about something, your eyes would change. You used to throw the worst tantrums when you got hungry or fussy and boom, the gold eyes would be out. That’s how we knew that you meant business!”, Diana finished with a laugh. “But it didn’t just happen when you were feeling those things. Ever since you were a baby, if the moon is bright in the sky, you would watch it from wherever you were and your eyes would begin to glow. And if you weren’t where you could see it, you would scream the house down until you were placed somewhere that you could.” “B-but why? What causes it to happen?” “We don’t know, Mom and Dad did though, but we never got the chance to ask them”, Diana concluded with a bone deep sadness reflecting from her eyes. Completely thrown by this newfound discovery, Minerva slowly makes her way to the couch at the center of the same living room and lowers herself down onto it. Both sisters remain silent for a long drawn out moment, both trying to wrap their heads around what this could possibly mean. ‘What if there is something wrong with me? There has to be right? If it was so bad that they couldn’t tell us, or that they had to leave? What if that’s what they were looking for when they were killed? Something to tell them what kind of monster I am.’, These thoughts continued to race through Minerva’s mind so quickly and she began to panic. Her heart felt like it was going to leap from her chest and she couldn't catch her breath. The lack of oxygen to her lungs caused her to gasp. Seeing the state her sister was in, Diana raced across the room to her side. She wrapped her arms around Minerva tightly, and tried to help her calm her breathing. Diana was well practiced in the art of aiding her sister through panic attacks. Minerva had experienced them many times throughout her life due to her heightened emotions and the ease in which she became overwhelmed. “I don’t know what you are Minerva,” Diana began to say, while stroking her sister's hair soothingly, “but I swear I’ll help you figure it out. Whatever it takes!”

**~Time Skip~**

**The Next Morning**

After a night filled with shocking revelations and deep emotional stress, Mierva slowly awakens the next morning with a million thoughts plaguing her mind. But these questions were quickly swept away as Diana rushed into the livingroom of their small apartment, the area in which Minerva had claimed as her new living quarters for the time being. “Mimi, why are you dressed yet? We need to get to the Bod so we can finish my research! The deadline is almost here and I need to have it finished if I hope to score my position on the staff!”, Diana fired off as she sped around the room gathering the materials she would need to complete her work. “I’m perfectly capable of finding my way to the Bod myself you know.”, drawled Mierva. She was still a little bitter after having discovered the secrets her family had been keeping from her, or was her mood due to her confusion over what this mysterious feeling was that kept drawing her to find Matthew and never let him go, she couldn’t quite decide. Diana paused long enough for Minerva to catch the eye roll that was directed at her snip. “I know that Mimi, but I was hoping if I bought you breakfast it would inspire you to help with my research,” Diana finished her bribe off by throwing Minerva her patent “puppy-eyed” look. “Fine,” huffed Minerva, “but only if it involves lots of coffee and very little conversation, I’m still not nearly awake enough for this.”

**~~Time Skip~~**

**The Bodleian Library**

The Bishop sister finally arrived at the Bod, after having a mostly civil breakfast. Apart from the few barbs Minerva served to her sister due to her slowly dwindling anger from discovering her family's deceit, Minerva tried to be on her best behavior. The consumption of copious amounts of caffeine seemed to have placed her in a much better mode as well. After stopping by the front desk to gather the books they would need for their work, the sisters saddled up to Diana’s friend Sean, who appeared to be in an unhappy mood. “Hey, what’s going on?”, Diana asked as she and Minerva fell into step with him. “Some hotshot scientist has graced us with his presence.”, Sean replied, his voice dripping with the sarcasm he laced into his words. “Sorry, he requested 83.”, he continued as they finally arrived at his destination, which just happened to be table 83. The table that Diana always claimed as her own when visiting the Bod. “Yours, Professor Clairmont.”, Sean said as he laid the books from his hands onto the table. This brought Minerva’s attention back to her immediate surroundings, she had been studying a strange looking person wearing bright red boots across the room, this person had caught the attention of something deep within her, but not in a good way. As she turned to the table before her, she instantly locked gazes with the object of many of her recurring thoughts. The man sitting before her was Matthew Clairmont, and her sister was not very pleased to see him. “Thank you.”, Matthew replied to Sean, without ever taking his eyes off of Minerva. Having completed his present job, Sean nodded goodbye to Diana and set off to return to his desk. With both Minerva and Matthew’s attentions still solely on one another, neither paid much mind to Diana as she, with her frustration written clearly on her face, began to set her books down on the same table. Matthew finally broke the staring contest between himself and Minerva long enough to utter, “Good morning.”. Which while mainly directed to Diana due to her unconcealed frustration, was also for Minerva as well. “Professor Clairmont”, Diana gritted out in return, not liking the fact that he was in her space, must less near her sister once again. Diana merely chose to ignore his very presence. She began to boot up her computer and set to work like he wasn’t even there. Matthew found this very amusing, and from the looks of it Minerva did as well. The two shared a small smile at the way Diana was behaving. Like a sulking child who was made to share its toy with another. Both could still clearly tell she was not happy, and after the third loud sigh in a row Minerva took it upon herself to kick her sister’s leg under the table. ‘She’s acting completely ridiculous right now!’, Minerva thought, ‘I’m the one with some kind of freaky connection with the guy, and you don’t see me acting like that!” As if finally sensing her growing aggravation, which of course he did, Matthew decided to break the uncomfortable silence. “I’m sorry, am I bothering you?”, he asked with one eyebrow raised high, as if to challenge Diana to confess that yes, he was actually bothering her. “No”, Diana quipped back, “I’m just surprised you find a southern exposure comfortable.” Minerva felt the urge to face-palm at this. How childish was her sister going to be over a stupid table. Especially going so far as to make a stereotypical vampire jab at the man who was sitting before them, and clearly not burning alive due to sun exposure. “You don’t believe everything you read, do you?”, asked Matthew with an unamused look on his face. He glanced to Minerva and was greatly amused by the look of disbelief that showed on her face at her sister’s comment. The beast within him calmed once again by her mere presence. He chose to ignore this feeling for the moment, his mind more focused on what was truly going on around them. He decided to skip right to the point, growing tired to this back and forth with Diana. He was here to protect them, mainly Minerv, but he would keep her sister safe as well. No matter how much she disliked him. “Alright, then. I thought that you two might like some company.”, Diana shot him a look of clear confusion. ‘Why on earth would he think that we would like to spend time with him?’, Diana thought. “The library’s busy today. Quite a few witches here.”, Matthew continued. Upon hearing this both sisters began to look at the people sitting in the library around them. While Diana whipped her head back and forth, Minerva practiced the art of subtlety as she scanned the room for any potential threats. The clawing sensation within her began to return as the thought of a potential threat crossed her mind. And just as her heart rate began to rise, and would certainly result in her eyes shifting colors once more, Matthew reached across the table and laid his hand on top of both of hers. She hadn’t realized that she had begun to grip the table top tightly with both and nor did she notice her nails began to sharpen and grow… Matthew caught these details of course, but again, he chose to push these things aside in favor of the more important job of keeping her safe. They would speak of this later. “So what? They often work in here.”, Diana tried to argue, having been oblivious to what had just occurred between her sister and the man before them. “They’re here to watch you”, Matthew stressed it word out, looking at Minerva with a look of deep concern upon his face, “The both of you. I didn warn you that other creatures would take an interest in the both of you.” “They’re looking at us because we’re talking to you”, Diana tried to deny, no matter how true she knew his statement to be. These people surely couldn’t think she or Minerva had done anything, there was no proof that it was them. “They are not the ones with the problem”, she continued, still trying to deny his claim. “Do you mind?”, asked a man from the next table. Their not so quiet arguing had obviously drawn the attention and ire of those around them. Minerva simply chose to flip the man off with a smile on her face as a response. No matter how serious this situation was, she wan’t going to let an old man in a library get onto her sister for some dumb reason like talking above a whisper. Matthew let out a small laugh at her actions. The beast within him began to purr once more, ‘ Our mate has fire’, the beast thought. This shocked Matthew to the core, the beast within him hadn’t spoken aloud in centuries. Matthew was brought out of his thoughts due to Diana harshly closing her laptop and beginning to gather her things. He looked to Minerva and all she did was shrug, there was nothing she could do to control her sister when she got in this sort of mood. “Leaving so soon,”Matthew questioned as Diana rose from the table. “Yeah.”, was a clipped reply. Deciding that her best course of action would be to follow her sister out, Minerva rose from the table as well. Though a large part of her wanted to stay exactly where she was and never leave Matthew’s presence. She fought her true desires and stood to follow her sister, releasing a low reluctant whine that no one but the man before her could hear and she didn’t realize she had made. Matthew fought himself to not reach across the table again for her hand, instead he chose to follow the sisters from the library in order to keep them safe.

**~~Time Skip~~**

Due to her reluctance to leave the library at the same time as Diana, Minerva was lucky enough to avoid an encounter with Gillian, who had taken it upon herself to stress the dangers that a vampire could pose to Diana. Having had enough drama for the day, both sisters decided that they should just relax and spend some time together. They decided to stop near the Bod and get a coffee from a cute little street vendor cart. Diana spent the time they had waiting in line reading some alchemical text, while Minerva took that time to observe the people moving around them. She was picking up details about those around her as quickly as a child picks of candy from a busted pināta. She was trying her hardest to focus on this rather than follow the pull she felt, that let her know that Matthew was somewhere nearby, watching them. ‘Protecting you’, she heard a faint voice say seemingly out of nowhere. She whipped her head around to find the source but had no such luck. Quickly growing tired of her game, she finally allowed the pull within her to help her locate Matthew, who was standing a few yards away near the opening of one of the older college buildings. Having sensed her gaze, Matthew locked eyes with Minerva once more. They stayed this way for what seemed like a lifetime, but in reality were mere moments. Diana did eventually nudged Minerva to move forward in the line to order their drinks, but her mind never left the thought of Matthew’s beautiful icy blue eyes. After receiving their orders and walking around long enough to drink them down, the sister decided that they both needed a good run and row to help them alleviate the stress that they felt from the day. They quickly made their way to their apartment and changed into workout gear before heading out. Once outside, Minerva challenged Diana to a race, which they both knew that Minerva would win. She had never lost a race, not ever. They raced all the way to the boat house, Minerva won of course! When they arrived they gathered the gear they needed and set out. Minerva could still sense Matthew watching over them, but it didn’t bother her or make her uncomfortable, she actually felt safe and protected. Having become completely distracted by her rowing, Minerva hardly noticed Matthew’s short disappearance. But he had returned before it could fully come to her attention. At dark, both Diana and Minerva decided that it was time to return to the boat house. They were both starving and in desperate need of a shower. They packed their gear back into the boat house and had begun to store it properly when Minerva felt the return of Matthew’s presence. Apparently, Diana had sensed it as well, because she turned quickly from hanging up her gear to see Matthew leaning against a stack of boats across the room. “Do you actually think it’s safe down here in the dark, Dr. Bishop”, Matthew asked Diana. Minerva knew the question wasn’t directed at her due to the fact that the two were on a first name basis, not that Diana was aware of this. “Are you stalking me,” Diana flat out asked, quickly growing tired of the game she felt Matthew was trying to play with her and her sister. “I’m merely pointing out that rowing, with just the two of you is a risk”, he stated, this time directing it at Minerva. Minerva gave him a raised eyebrow in return, as if to say ‘You mean the few minutes in which you left me alone?’. “So, “The Book of Life,” what did you do with it”, Matthew asked. He believed Minerva when she told him that she didn’t have it, but what was to stop her sister from going back and retrieving it? “I don’t know what that is”, Diana answered, with a look of confusion swiftly crossing her face before it settled back into an expression that portrayed her growing anger and annoyance for the man standing before her. Matthew, not believing her the slightest bit replied,“Two witches of your powers, how could you not know”. ‘What power’, thought Minerva. ‘We had never heard someone mentioning that they had felt it before, not even Sarah and Em. We don’t have the kind of power he thinks we do! If we did then it would have shown its before now.’ Minerva’s mind was racing to come up with some sort of answer for what he must truly be feeling, but her mind was drawing a blank. Before she could even utter a word, Diana had already allowed her frustration to poor out on the man through her words. “Just because you saw us in the library. That was unusual for us. We don’t use magic.”, Diana replied. Her anger became more evident by the moment. But even as she heard her sister tell Matthew this, Minerva couldn’t help but to think of how untrue Diana’s words were. Odd things happened to and around them all the time. She knew that whatever she sensed from this odd pull she had to Matthew must somehow be connected to what little power she actually possessed. Coming back to the conversation once again, Minerva sensed Matthew’s anger from hearing the obvious lie in her sister’s words. “Don’t lie to me, Diana. I can feel both of your powers”, Matthew pressed. He couldn’t understand why they felt the need to lie about it. He could sense their power in the very air around them, others could too, so why would they try to pretend as if they weren’t there. He looked to Minerva as though he was hoping she would step in and tell him the truth of what was really going on. But the look in her eyes stopped him from confronting her about it in that moment. Her face held a look of true confusion, ‘Does she truly not know the power she possesses?’, Matthew thought to himself. This was yet another mystery that surrounded the woman who had seemingly captured his complete attention during the short time he had known her. Diana broke his train of thought and brought him back to the issue at hand when she snapped out her next question, “If you want the book, why don’t you go get it? I told you, I gave it back.” Matthew knew that there was no way Diana could be telling the truth because he had requested it that very morning, and the book was said to be missing once more. “I don’t believe you”, was his clipped reply. “Okay, let’s say we’re lying. What are you going to do? Rip our heads off to get the truth out of us?”, Matthew felt an overwhelming sense of anger at her words. The beast within him threatened to break through at the mere suggestion that it would ever hurt its ‘mate’. He was quickly growing tired of Minerva’s sister and her smart remarks. But he couldn’t lose his temper with her completely, no matter how tempting the thought of ripping her head off sounded in that moment, Minerva would never forgive him. So he took a deep breath and replied,”I could, but it’s not how I operate.” Matthew glanced to Minerva, who he hoped had been able to hear the absolute sincerity in his words. He would never hurt her or those she holds most dear, nor would he allow any other the chance to. He didn’t understand where this bone deep urge to protect her had come from, but he wasn’t going to try and fight it. “I’m gonna say this to you one more time,”, Diana began, with a tilt of her head and a voice dripping with condescension, “we don’t have your book.” Diana went to storm off in anger, grabbing her sister’s hand along the way, but she was stopped suddenly by Matthew’s next words. “Ashmole 782 has been missing for centuries, and yet you two were able to call it up. Aren’t you curious why?”, Matthew questioned as the two sisters tried to make a hasty retreat. As the words left Matthew’s lips, Minerva pulled her sister to a stop. ‘This couldn’t be a coincidence! Why would it come to us, we don’t have enough power to call on that sort of magic. It couldn’t have been us. Someone else must have called for it and it came to us by accident!’,Minerva's thoughts were full of such confusion once more. Minerva turned back to Matthew, pulling her sister along with her. She wanted to know what was going on, and Matthew seemed to know a lot more about this stupid book than they did! “That book has never appeared to me or anyone else no matter what we’ve done. Only to you two. It could be the key to our survival, so isn’t it strange that the only creatures who can summon it are two witches who can’t control their magic.”, Matthew knew that they wouldn’t ignore what was going on now. Especially Minerva! He had promised her that he would do anything in his power to discover what she was and what was causing the mutual pull they felt for each other. Finding this book could help them find out the truth. Minerva knew from the moment that she came into the presence of that book, that there was something very strange about it. But to hear that it could affect the lives of every creature she knew and the few she truly cared about. Namely Sarah and Em. How could she not want to find out where the book is and why it called to her. Why hadn’t it chosen Diana? She possessed more magic than she did, it should have chosen her. She wanted answers, and again, it seemed as though Matthew would be the only one that could truly help her find them. She didn’t know where this new found trust for someone she just met had come from, but she wasn’t going to fight it. As she and Diana still stood there, trying to make sense of Matthew’s words, he walked past them headed for the entrance of the boat house. He had spoken his peace, now he would leave them to decide what they wished to do with the information he had imparted unto them. But as he made his way out of the boathouse, feeling the eyes of both of the Bishop sisters following him, his heightened sense of smell brought his attention to a jacket laying on the path outside. He knew it to be one that belonged to Minerva, because he had seen her wearing it earlier on that day. The beast within him felt drawn to the garment, and led him to pick it up. He quickly understood why he reacted the way he did. The jacket was drenched with a scent that appealed to him as none before. This jacket was covered in the scent of the one his beast claimed as its mate. It smelled purly of Minerva. Matthew couldn’t stop himself from bringing the object to his nose to inhale the irresistible scent. And as soon as he did, the beast threatened to break free. It wanted her, to claim her and hide her away forever. He fought to push the beast back, but it fought him harder than ever before. He feared what it would do if it actually broke free and took over. Without Matthew realizing it, the sisters had followed him from the boathouse and watched him as he inhaled Minerva’s scent from her discarded jacket. Diana, seeing the suddenly feral look on his face, grabbed Minerva’s arm and dragged her behind her. She didn’t know what was happening but she would protect her sister no matter what. Minerva was having a fight within herself as well. The clawing feeling had returned with a vengeance, and she felt as though her insides were being clawed out by some wild beast. Her thoughts were focused solely on the man before her, no matter how intense the pain within her got. The pulling sensation had come back ten times stronger than before. She fought her entire being from allowing it to go to him. It was killing her not to, but she knew now wasn’t the time, though didn’t know what that meant. And as Matthew slowly lowered the jacket from his face, she fought harder to stand where she was than ever before. The look he was giving her was so intense and feral that it should have sent her running, but she didn’t want to run away from him. Whatever was inside her only wanted to go to him. ‘What is happening to us?’, was the only panicked thought that ran through her mind. Matthew was slowly losing his fight to remain where he was standing, and he knew the beast was only moments from breaking free. He had to get Minerva away from himself because he didn’t know what the beast would do. He turned to Diana, hoping to convey the seriousness of the situation to her, and also take his focus off of the woman standing next to her. “Walk past me slowly. No sudden movement”, were the only words he could force out as he tried to stop himself from breathing in anymore of Minerva’s scent. If he did he would surely lose this battle. Diana, grasping the urgency of his tone, gripped her sister’s hand and began to slowly walk past Matthew. But as they grew closer, her grip had to tighten on her sister’s hand, Minerva had begun to pull away from her. Minerva was slowly losing her battle as well, and only the pressure of her sister’s hand around her own kept her mind from clouding over completely with this feeling building inside her, a feeling that she couldn’t quite name as she had never felt this way before. As they walked nearer to him, Minerva tried to pull away from her sister, in an attempt to reach out to Matthew. Her eyes began to glow gold once more, and seeing this caused Matthew’s beast to go ballistic. Realizing that time was running out Matthew looked to Diana, “Go!”, he shouted as he began to tremble due to the strength it was taking him to hold the monster within back. “But don’t run.”, he warned, knowing that if they did there would be nothing he could do to stop the beast from breaking free. Diana grabbed Minerva around the waist and went to walk past him. Minerva fought to release herself from Diana, and didn’t realize that she let loose a low pitched whine that only Matthew could hear. But Diana wouldn’t let her go no matter how hard she fought, and they finally made it past Matthew. Minerva tried her best to fight whatever this feeling was, and the further away she got the easier it was to do. As they began to move further along down the path, Minerva couldn’t fight the desire to look back, but when she did Matthew had vanished and she could no longer sense him nearby.


End file.
